Top Five Letters in the English Language

The English language is filled with some pretty interesting letters, as well as some that just don’t make the cut. Everyone has their own favorite, and countless relationships have been ruined over the debates between vowels and consonants (a word that I found surprisingly hard to spell just now).

In order to ease the debate and help bring some stability to this volatile issue (which is not just the most-used letter), our staff has compiled the Top Five Letters in the English Language.

Before we get to the list, though, we should mention that the letters of “U”, “Z” and “J” finished in the Bottom Three. These three have a lot of work to do if they want to climb up the rankings in future years. “J” finished dead last, because really, is there much point to “J”? Wouldn’t a “G” suffice?

I would prefer, and I know many other people feel the same way, if our alphabet had 25 letters, which is much more symmetrical and comfortable than the awkward 26 letters we currently have. I suggest we eliminate “J” and I think I am gustifed in saying we would engoy it and get by gust fine.

Now, then, let’s gump back to the Top Five!

“X”

This letter is a surprise to many voters and fans, but it has a strong following around the world. The fact that it is a letter with a cool sound (it’s fun to say x!) helped bring it some popularity, along with the idea that you can substitute x for “Christ” and you can also create something powerful with the “x-factor.” When you throw in the fact that the “ex” prefix makes an “x” sound and changes the meaning of words in a huge way, you’ve got a pretty powerful letter. You can turn your spouse into your ex-spouse, you can quit and have an ex-job and even get into trouble in church and become excommunicated. Finally, the idea that the letter “X’ is key in the heroic X-Men cements its spot in the Top 5. Congratulations!

“E”

This letter is the most-used letter in the English language, which led many people to believe that it would climb all of the way to the No. 1 Ranking. Studies do show that the letter E is used more than any other, and most fans of Wheel of Fortune (Three “e’s” in the name) would surely agree. In researching this, I learned the Morse Code was developed by counting the number of letters in sets of printers’ type, and Samuel Morse found that E and T were the most frequently used letters. In today’s English, according to several studies by people with too much time on their hands, found that the letters used the most are, in order, E, A, R, I, O, which sounds correct if you take the time when people are speaking and listen closely with your eario. “E” does a great job, but frankly it seems like it is silent about half of the time. Also, half of the time you need two E’s as one just does not cut it in a word. “E” needs to be a little more forceful and learn to stand on its own better if it ever wants to climb up into the Top Three.

“H”

If there was an award for “Best Supporting Letter,” I believe that award would go to “H”. Also, there definitely should be such an award. The letter “H” can stand just fine on its own, and it does a great job as a leading word with its “h” sound that is somewhat quiet, subtle and sometimes even silent (but not in an overkill way like “E”). Honestly. But the letter really came into its own when it decided to team up with letters such as “C” , “T” and “S” to create the “ch”, “th” and “sh” sounds, the latter being beloved by librarians and moviegoers around the world. What many people forget, though, is the magic that “H” creates with other letters such as “R” and “G”. Where would we be without rhymes, rhinos and the rhombus? And without GH, I don’t think we could get through tough coughs. Great Going G!

“C”

The letter “C” is one of most versatile and valuable letters out there and nearly topped the polls this year due to its variety of sounds and uses. The “C” sounds in cat, chalk and cease are great examples of the outstanding work that this letter does nearly every day. It’s like the Cal Ripken Jr. of letters; it’s always out there working hard to help form words in any way that it can. I know that “C” is often thought of as average, but I have been thrilled to receive “C’s” many times in my life. I would love to be given a C-note, I’m pretty sure I can sing a C sharp and I know that if there is one letter that I want to pronounce if I am traveling in a Spanish-speaking country, that letter is “C.” If our Top Letter is unable to fulfill its duties this year, we are confident that “C” will be able to take over. Nice job, “C”.

“Y”

This top spot was a shocker to many so-called “experts” who neglected to recognize the importance of this Top Letter positioned near the end of the alphabet. “Y” is a letter that must be reckoned with, though. “Y” you ask? I’ll tell you why! First of all, this big time letter has a plethora of sounds as in “yes”, “by” and “happy”. Secondly, that “ee” sound just makes everything sound more fun. “Joe” becomes “Joey” and “Nick” becomes “Nicky”. Actually, I hated that last one after I got past age 7….. Nonetheless, the letter “Y” can also magically turn adjectives into adverbs! You say it’s a quick car (quick is the adjective there), I say the car is driving quickly (now quickly is the adverb). Isn’t this fun! Or maybe it’s funny! Finally, and perhaps most importantly, “Y” has the power to serve as both a vowel and a consonant. That simple fact was the clincher for many of our voters. “My, yes,” they said, perfectly illustrating a few of the points I was trying to make here. So Y takes home the top spot for this year. So yell some “Yippee’s” and yuck it up “Y” you’re yoeman-like yawning, yapping and yodeling has yielded a yogurt-like YES from our yelping voters!